As a blogger, I spend a lot of my time online. 9-5 at the office for my day job, and then a few more hours at home scheduling posts, answering emails, reading pitches, and of course, as a girl in my twenties – shopping online. As I got older, my real-world shopping trips got more sparse, and my online deal hunting time increased dramatically. And why not? It’s so convenient – just click and pay…et voilà!

So when Gap PR invited me to attend Gap Canada’s Online Shopping Launch, I was thrilled! Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic have had huge presence worldwide and in Canada for many years now…but we weren’t able to shop online until now. All three sites, one shopping cart, free shipping (over $50), warehouse in Canada, no tariffs – easy, peasy.

Shopping at the event was easy too. Attendees were given $100 to spend on any Gap Inc. items available online, via www.GapCanada.ca. After initial browsing, I selected a cute double-breasted sweater from Gap, and some socks from Old Navy, clicked Checkout, and was done in mere minutes – the way online shopping should be.

Gap Inc. is a huge corporation…and all this ease has made me wonder why we (Canadians) didn’t get online shopping sooner. Thankfully, Gap Inc. Direct President Toby Lenk was on hand to answer some of my questions. He and Debbie Podberesky (VP Gap Inc.) shared that though online shopping could’ve been offered to Canadians much sooner, the infrastructure was not in place to allow direct shipping from Canada to Canada, which would’ve meant that packages would be shipped from the States, incurring tariffs, and making in-store returns nearly impossible. With a new warehouse in Southern Ontario, shipping is supposed to be fast and efficient, while returns and exchanges – a breeze.

I also wondered about the goods’ selection online – having shopped firsthand myself, I noted that many items offered in stores or on the US site were noticeably missing. But Mr. Lenk confirmed that it’s just a timing issue – the site is still in its early stages, and more product will be introduced as time goes on.

But as expected with any brand new launch, my online shopping did have a minor setback – an email stating that my order was cancelled. After phoning the number on the email, and speaking to very courteous and helpful support staff, I was informed that due to a large number of sequential prepaid credit card orders, the system halted said orders, suspecting potential fraud. The problem was fixed, and it somehow made me feel more secure about shopping at Gap Canada online, if mildly confused at first. A couple of hours later, all orders were re-instated, my packagewas still scheduled to arrive at my house in 5(ish) days. Hooray!

Now, I don’t know how fast I’ll be getting my goodies in the mail, so I can’t vouch for speediness and packaging, but as soon as that parcel arrives at my door, I’ll make sure to let you guys know all about it and post some pics too!

Are you excited about being able to shop Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy online, all on one site? Let me know in the comments!

UPDATE: Got my package in the mail 2 days after ordering. That is TWO days with FREE shipping. If that’s not amazing, I really don’t know what is! The sweater was a bit big on me, so I went in the next day to exchange it. Brought the bill with me, sales associate processed the exchange without questions. I got a pair of jeans instead of the sweater…and they fit like a dream. They’ll definitely get a lot of use on my upcoming vacay. Look out for pics!

WHAT I WORE

WHO IS NELIA?

Nelia Belkova is a Toronto-based fashion and lifestyle blogger by night and a financial analyst by day. She loves to travel, read gossip sites, eat sweets, and cuddle up to her husband and her cat on the couch. Read More…